The invention concerns a transmission device for an automotive vehicle. The device includes a first spur gear transmission section having a plurality of first planets of a first set of planets which are arranged to rotate about a main axis of rotation of the transmission device. The device further includes a second spur gear transmission section having a plurality of second planets of a second set of planets which are arranged to rotate about the main axis of rotation of the transmission device. The device further includes a plurality of double planet pins which extend from a first side section to a second side section, each of said double planet pins carrying one planet of the first set of planets and one planet of the second set of planets. The device still further includes a third set of planets having third planets which are likewise arranged to rotate about the main axis of rotation of the transmission device. The device further has a plurality of supporting pins each of which carries one planet of the third set of planets.
Transmission devices in automotive vehicles are known in a variety of different configurations. Such transmission devices are used for example in drive trains of automotive vehicles for reducing, multiplying, distributing or combining drive torques. A particularly design space-saving configuration of transmission devices are spur gear transmission devices that comprise a plurality of continuously toothed spur gears.
The publication U.S. Pat. No. 3,527,121, which probably constitutes the closest prior art, discloses a planet gear transmission comprising a plurality of axially neighboring transmission sections which comprise planets in form of spur gears. As best seen in FIG. 1, in one form of embodiment disclosed in this publication, an axially extending, continuous planet pin is used as a carrier for a double planet gear, two planet gear sections being arranged neighboring each other in axial direction on the common planet pin. Further planets of this planetary transmission comprise pins, each of which, as viewed in axial direction, extends only over one single transmission section.